As with all things Vice, you can’t quite know whether it is entirely true, or where the lines of reality stand. Sometimes I think Vice are the only people who can see past the ridiculous censorship of madness enough to show us how utterly bonkers the world is. Sometimes I think they themselves are the mad ones who have lost grasp of reality and instead make it up as they go along. Especially when it comes to the Fiction Issue.

Likely the truth (relative or actual) lies somewhere in the middle. The truth in photography has never been in a solid state but with zeros and ones reigning supreme, the truth is even more muddied. Spot the difference.

The internet allows a two way discourse between corporate and consumers. Sometimes the power that consumers have is frightening and scary to corporate powers. Now we all have mouths with which to sing songs of revolution. More so, the songs can be amplified to many others and create a choir of dissent.

Anthony Leslie (@DocLeslie) used Facebook to articulate a point of view that ran contrary to the needs of the corporate #FB account and all he got was to be forcefully unfriended.
This infogram shows the gap in reality between what consumers want to use social media for and what corporations think consumers use social media for.

We have to work hard to understand how this all works because social media is everywhere now and we have to try really, really hard to escape it. A little pocket sized wizard that was unveiled just five years ago is everywhere. Apparently there are more Iphones sold each day than babies born. I don’t know if that it true or not, again, I’m sure the truth is blurred. Regardless, the one-stop-shop for entertainment, information, communication and Angry Birds is everywhere.

The internet allows us to provide and consume new forms to fuel our obsession with bikes. I love the fortnightly @steedcycles podcasts. In them it is a bunch of slightly bitter and critical bike shop employees recording themselves argue amongst themselves about the news, views and smooze in mountain biking. Check it out here. [feed://steedcycles.com/feed/podcast/]

Blog Talk radio has a mountain bike themed radio show too. I haven’t listened to it because I was too busy consuming the #L2A week blast from @crankworx. Which raises more questions about what is best: a professional approach to an amateur outlet or a amateur execution of a professional event.

they really have to start finding proper broadcasting talent, that actually charges a fee, enough of the ‘ill do it for free bro’ club.